Eggs can be found in any kitchen of the world. The Chinese use them to prepare the well-known egg noodles, Australians – in all sorts of desserts and baking. Finns add a hard-boiled and finely chopped egg to nettle soup, and Chileans add it to their favorite empanadas meat dish.
Eggs can be found in any kitchen of the world. The Chinese use them to prepare the well-known egg noodles, Australians – in all sorts of desserts and baking. Finns add a hard-boiled and finely chopped egg to nettle soup, and Chileans add it to their favorite empanadas meat dish.
Boiled and fried eggs are one of the most popular breakfast items in our country. Eggs contain eight essential amino acids, protein and vitamins. However, despite such a rich composition, their usefulness is often questioned.
This is due to the high concentration of cholesterol contained in them. It is certainly impossible to deny, but to understand how great such harm is, it is necessary to sort out this issue in more detail. Few know what cholesterol is. However, ignorance does not prevent the majority from considering it as an extremely harmful and dangerous for health substance. In fact, cholesterol is very important for our body. It is part of the cell membranes, ensuring their density and thereby protecting intracellular structures from the effects of free radicals; participates in the process of digestion, without it the full functioning of the liver, the formation of bile is not possible; involved in the synthesis of male and female sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone); helps the adrenal glands produce cortisol; ensures the normal functioning of the brain’s serotonin receptors. Violations of cholesterol concentration in the blood lead to a weakening of the immune system.
Mostly cholesterol is produced by the body independently (about 75-80%), the remaining 20-25% comes from food, and therefore the level of cholesterol can deviate to one side or the other, depending on the diet. Conventionally, “bad” (in conjunction with lipoproteinaminase density) and “good” (combined with high-density lipoproteins) cholesterol are isolated, but in fact it has a single composition and a single structure, and its properties are determined by the transport protein to which it will join.
With an increased concentration of low-density lipoproteins, there is a danger of cholesterol precipitating on the walls of blood vessels and the formation of so-called plaques covering the lumen of a blood vessel, increasing the risk of developing associated diseases. High-density lipoproteins clear the walls of blood vessels from “bad” cholesterol and send it for processing to the liver.
It should be noted that individual genetic characteristics, lifestyle and food ration significantly affect the “behavior” of the body and it begins to adjust the synthesis of cholesterol, depending on how much it comes from the outside.
Nutrition plays, though not a key role in the mechanism of the dynamics of cholesterol in the blood, but it still has a significant effect on it. What type of lipoprotein it goes into can be said depending on the parallel-eaten foods and metabolic peculiarities.
So, for example, a product in itself rich in cholesterol (egg, shrimp), eaten with fatty foods (mayonnaise, sausages, etc.) is more likely to cause an increase in LDL levels. The same effect will be if a person inherits a defective gene, in the presence of which the same result will occur, even if along the way nothing fat was used.
Thus, cholesterol in itself does not cause serious concern, until it accumulates in the body in high concentrations, eating foods that contain a lot of cholesterol automatically reduces the production of its own to compensate for the incoming.
Despite the presence in the yolk of significant amounts of cholesterol, eggs contain a lot of protein (about 5.5 g in one egg), the high nutritional value of eggs is due to the presence of amino acids necessary for various biological processes, which play an important role in maintaining the normal functioning of the body, and provitamin A, vitamins B2, B5; B12, E, D, folic acid, phosphorus, lecithin, choline, lutein, iodine, biotin, iron, selenium makes them truly useful.
So, taking into account all the pros and cons of this product, it is not recommended to include more than 1 egg per day in the diet. If the level of cholesterol in the body is elevated, it is better to limit yourself to 2-3 eggs per week or to avoid consuming yolks.
Do not forget about the dangerous conditions that can occur when excessive or improper use of chicken eggs:
Salmonella infection (when eating raw eggs and when the technology of cooking dishes from them is not followed);
excessive cholesterol in the blood (excessive consumption of eggs, especially without taking into account the initial level of cholesterol in the blood); the development of an allergic reaction, especially in children (the use of eggs without taking into account the individual sensitivity of the body).
And remember, a balanced diet combined with adequate physical activity is a guarantee of health and longevity.